1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a garment set hanger, and more particularly pertains to a garment set hanger which is suitable for hanging and displaying together a set of matched garments such as a matched set of children's garments. The garment set hanger is designed to display the set of matched garments together and to convey to a consumer the impression that the garments are designed to be purchased together as a matched set, and also to make it easier for the consumer to locate the matched set of garments.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It can be appreciated that many garments are designed to be worn and sold as coordinated outfits or sets. For example, a coordinate jacket and pants set, a coordinate jacket and top set, a coordinate short and top set, and other such coordinate combinations as are frequently specifically manufactured to be sold as matched sets. In the sale of such coordinate garment sets, it is desirable to display the garments together to convey to the consumer the impression that the garments are indeed a set to be purchased together. To that end the separate garments may be hung on separate hangers and displayed alongside or next to each other, or the garments may be hung on a single hanger. The drawbacks in such display methods are that in the first example of separate hangers, some frame or support is required to display the separately hung garments together, and in the second example of a single hanger, sharing a single hanger may obscure one of the individual garments that make up the coordinate garment set from display, or make it difficult to mount the coordinate garment set on the single hanger.
It can also be appreciated that a further benefit in displaying such coordinate garment sets together, or in displaying garments of a similar style and color together, is that the amount of required display space can be reduced significantly. A still further benefit of displaying such coordinate items together is to make it easier for the consumer to find and purchase such coordinate garment sets. This economy of space and ease of organization may also extend to the transportation and storage of such coordinate garment sets.
Moreover, in many cases, each separate garment of the coordinate garment set requires a hanger of a different type, such as a hanger suitable for displaying a blouse used with a hanger capable of supporting a skirt or a pair of slacks. For this purpose, it has long been a practice to utilize hanger structures in which two hangers are ganged together, with a lower hanger being suspended from a top hanger. In other cases, attachments have been designed with the attachment constructed to be temporarily or permanently connected to a supporting hanger.
These arrangements have often not been satisfactory because they have normally required the hangers to be of such a design that they do not have utility other than as ganged hangers for simultaneous multiple garment display and transport. Moreover, when hangers of conventional construction have been modified to permit ganging, they have involved either a difficult and complex structure for attaching one garment hanger to the other, or they have not been satisfactory in transportation because the vibration and jostling incident to transportation has frequently caused the hangers to become disconnected, allowing one of the garments to fall to the floor or the bottom of the transport container. This same lack of security of attachment has also been a problem at the point of display unless the hangers are carefully handled.
It is also an important requirement that the cost of manufacturing and selling of the hangers be maintained as low as possible to meet the necessities of the garment manufacturing and merchandising field.